a"* 

#343 


A  model  Confede 
Conf  Pam  12mo  #343 

■MHHH* 


Bh,M  Cflttfritote  inliicr, 


BEING  A  BRIEF  SKETCH  OF  THE  REV.  NATHAN- 
IEL D.  RENFROE,  LIEUTENANT  OF  A  COMPANY 
IN  THE    FIFTH    ALAPAMA    BATTALION,  OF 
GEN.  A.  P.  HILL'S  DIVISION,  WHO  FELL 
IN  THE  BATTLE  OF  FREDERICKS- 
BURG, DECEMBER  13th,  1S62. 


BY  THE 


REV.   J.   3:  D.   RENFROE 


Be  thou  of  go6d  courage,  and  let  us  pray  the 'more 

" !lies  of  our  God  :  and  the 

good. 


-LH5    IUUU    VI      g,V-"-l      wunctg*,      itMU     id    us    J'lUJ 

tor  our  people,   and  for  the  cities  of  our  Go.u 

Lord  do  that  which  geemeth  him  good. "—II  Sam.  10:  12 


l> 


/~t  ^-%    <*\ 


[Prefatory  Note. — It  is  hoped  that  the  following 
sketch  of  the.  Rev.  N.  D.  Renfroe  will  be  read  with  in- 
terest and  profit  by  many  of  our  gallant  soldiers  who 
are  now  battling  for  our  homes,  our  country,  our  liber- 
ties. Such  examples  of  devotion  to  religion  and  patriot- 
ism ought  to  be  preserved  for  the  benefit  of  the  living. 
The  withdrawal  of  one  so  young,  so  pure,  so  gifted, 
from  a  sphere  of  usefulness  to  which  the  Master  had 
called  him,  is  certainly  a  mysterious  providence.  It  is 
fitting  that  some  memotial  of  departed  worth  should  re- 
main to  fill  the  void.  And  who  can  more  appropriately 
perform  this  melancholy  task  than  a  surviving  brother? 
We  shall  be  greatly  mistaken  if  the  reading  of  this  tract 
does  not  cause  many  a  soldier's  heart  te  thrill  with  still 
higher  emotions  of  patriotic  Sympathy  and  Christian  de- 
votion. 

The  compiler  has  added  an  article  written  for  thy 
"Religious  Herald,"  by  an  Editor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  a  comrade  of  the  deceased. — S*JL] 


•  <\  ]rtj> 


From  tha  South  Western  Baptist, 

REV.  N.  D,  RENFROE,  * 

Messrs.  Editors  :  I  have  passed  the  saddest 
Christmas  of  my  life,  and  how  lonely  and  sorrowful 
the  new  year  finds  me!  I  have  to  perform  the  pain- 
ful .task  of  communicating  to  you  the  intelligence  of 
the  death  of  my  only  dear  brother,  N\  I).  Ren  i  roe, 
who  "was  killed  dead  on  the  battle-field  of  Fred- 
ericksburg," the  13th  ult. 

N.  D.  Renfroe  was. born  in  Macon  County,  Ala., 
near  the  Montgomery  line,  about  twenty-nine  years 
ago,  of  poor,  but  worthy  and  respected  parents.  .He 
was  reared  to  habits  of  industry  and  Jabor,  and  was, 
in  early  youth,  denied  the  privileges  of  school  and 
the  benefits  of  education;  yet,  he  was  home-taught 
the  lessons  of  honesty,  truthfulness  and  candor,  tor 
no  parents  ever  strove  with  more  care  to  implant 
these  qualities  in  the  principles  and  habits  of  their 
children  than  did  his.  lie  was  always  a  quiet, 
steady  boy.  It  seem e 4  to  be  his  very  nature — even 
in  childhood — to  attend  promptly  to  his  own  busi- 
ness, ignoring  that  of  others  ;  still  he  was  ever  kind 
and  obliging. 

.  in  the  year  1848,  a  gracious  revival  of  religion 
prevailed  in  that  part  of  Macon  County  where  his 
father  then  resided.     The  churches  under  the  pas- 


torates  ol  Elder*  J.  R.  Hand  and  A.  N;  Worthy, 
were  abuudantly  blessed  with  the  outpouring  of  the 
Holy  Spirit ;  these  ministers  then  labored  principal- 
ly together  in  aid  of  each  other.  Great  numbers 
were  converted  to  Christ,  and  by  them  baptized  into 
the  fellowship  of  the  churches.  Among  them,  in 
his  fifteenth  year,  was^  the  subject  of  this  letter,  with 
two  of  his  brothers  and  many  of  his  youthful  asso- 
ciates. He  was  baptized  by  Elder  J.  II.  Hand,  into 
the  fellowship  oi  Elizabeth  Church,  in  the  absence  of 
I)r.  "Worthy,  the  pastor.  And  from  that  day  »to  his 
death  he  "witnessed "a  good  confession,"  "walking 
worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  he  was  called,"  no 
man  over  daring  to  charge  aught, against  him.  All 
who  knew  him  will  bear  him  testimony,  that  he  "kept 
himself  unspotted  from  the  world,"  and  so  lived  that 
"no  man  despised  his  youth." 

In  1854  I  became  a  head  of  a  family  and  took  him 
to  my  house — a- poor,  illiterate,  but  pious  Christian 
youth — and  placed  him  in  Cedar  Uluff  Academy, 
Cherokee  County,  where  he  passed  two  years  with 
great  profit 'to  himself  and  satisfaction  to  his  friends, 
in  the  meantime  he  was  licensed  to  preach,  and  often 
accompanied  me  to  my  churches  and  aided  in  the 
ministry  of  the  Word,  manifesting  move  than  ordina- 
ry gifts^  and  commendable  zeal  in  the  cause  of  Christ. 
After  this,  I  was  enabled,  with  the  assistance  of  good 
brethren,  to  sustain  him  four  year.-  in  Cuion  Univer- 
sity, Tenn.;  where  he  proved  himself  an  earnest  and 
proficient  student,  and  by  application  and  industry, 
obtained   a   liberal  education :  failing   to   graduate, 


however,  by  five  months,  being  called  from  college 
by  the  pressing  wants  of  a  widowed  step-mother,  and 
orphan  relatives  to  whom  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  giv, 
immediate  attention.  While  in  college  he  p reached 
often  in  the  churches  and  destitute  neighborhoods 
around  Murfreesboro'.  and  spent  his  vacations  with 
the  Churches  in  Cherokee.  Calhoun  and  Talladega 
counties,  Ala.,  where  he  was  greatly  useful  in  many 
meetings  and  revivals. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1859 — when  he  left  col- 
lege— he  was  invited  to  the  pastorship  of  the  Jack- 
sonville church,  was  ordained  to  the  full  functions  of 
the  ministerial  office,  by  Elders  jj.  T.  Smith,  A.  E. 
Van  Devere  and  the  writer.  This  relation  he  suc- 
cessfully maintained — being  loved  by  his  flock  and 
respected  by  all — until  in  August.  1861,  he  volun- 
unteered  in  Oapt.  Bush's  company  on  the  eve  of  its 
starting  to  the  seat  of  war  in  Virginia.  This  com- 
pany forms  a  part  of  that  gallant  little  5th  Alabama 
Battalion,  in  A.  P.  Hill's  division,  "which* has  nearly 
worn  itself  out  fighting,  and  yet  is  but  little  no- 
ticed at  home."  The  subject  of  this  memoir  met  the 
duties  of  a  private  for  four  months  with  a  fortitude 
and  cheerful  devotion  common  to  soldiers  fighting  for 
liberty,  not  only  complying  with  every  demand  upon 
himself,  but  frequently  taking  the  place  of  the  in- 
firm and  illy  clad,  when  they  were  ordered  en  duty. 
The  first  vacancy  that  occurred  he  was  elected  Lieu- 
tenant almost  unanimously,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  until  his  fall. 

A  few  days  before  the  memorable  battles  in  front 


of  Richmond,  he  left  his  company  for  the  first  time, 
and  went  to  the  city  sick.  When  the  news  reached 
the  city  that  those  battles  were  about  beginning,  he 
arose,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  his  physician,  and 
hurried  to  the  scene  of  strife,  and  failing  to  find  his 
own  battalion — its  position  having  been  changed  in 
bivouacing  the  army  for  battle — he  fell  in  with  the 
16th  Ala.  Regiment,  and  one  of  its  companies  being 
without  a  commissioned  officer — its  officers  were 
absent  sick — he  oifered  them  his  services,  and  led 
the  company  through  the  terrible  battle  of  Friday, 
when  Colonel  "Woodward  and  so  many  good  men  of 
that  regiment  fell,  displaying,  in  the  most  hazardous 
charges  and  under  the  most  terrific  fire,  a  coolness 
and  efficiency  that  got  him  the  praises  of  that  com- 
pany. Then,  learning  where  his  own  company  were, 
he  went  to  them,  and  finding  that  one  of  their  officers 
had  been  that  day  killed  and  another  wounded,  he 
took  charge  of  them  and  commanded  them  to  the 
end  of  those  seven  day's  sanguinary  strife,  and  march- 
ed back  with  them  to  Richmond.  All  this  he  did 
when,  to  use  the  words  of-  his  physician,  "he  ought 
to  have  been  in  bed."  He  then  relapsed  with  Ty- 
phoid fever,  and  lay  in  the  city  at  the  point  of  death 
several  weeks ;  but  G-od  raised  him  up,  and  when 
able  to  walk  he  came  home  and  stayed  a  short  time, 
until  he  was  fif  for  service. 

This  prevented  his  participation  in  the  hard  march- 
es and  bloody  battles  of  Cedar  Run,  2d  Manassas  and 
Sharpsburg,  but  he  got  back  to  the  army  just  as  it 
retvuped  to  the  Southside  of  the  Potomac,  by  a  walTc 


of  one  hundred  miles,  fully  restored  to  health  and 
reacfy  for  duty,  and  has  had  charge  of  the  company 
most  of  the  time  since. 

In  a  letter — the  last  he  ever  wrote  me — speaking' 
.of  the  march  to  Fredericksburg,  he  says:  ;<  Wo 
have  just  completed  another  march  of  one  hundred 
and  seventy  miles,  crossing  two  awful  mountains  in 
the  time.  We  were  twelve  days  on  the  march.  1 
had  no  wagon,  or  horse,  or  any  other  means  of  trans- 
portation, except  my  feet  for  myself  and  baggage  ; 
we  rested  only  at  night — risiDg  at  4£  in  the 
morning  and  marching  until  sunset.  I  suffered 
much — frequently  thinking  that  I  would  fall  out  and 
rest,  but  when  I  would  look  through  the  company 
and  see  several  men  barefooted  and  still  keeping  up, 
it  would  stimulate  me,  and  I  would  press  on.  The 
tramp  finished  my  boot*,  and  both,  my  feet  are  on  the 
ground,  and  but  little  prospect  of  getting  any  shoes 
soon.  ]3ut  it  in  my  duty  to  bear  a  little  hardness  as 
a  good  soldier  of  Jesus'  Christ,  and  I  submit  to  it 
cheerfully  and  without  a  murmur  in  view  of  my 
country's  freedom  and  the  honor  of  my  religion.  We 
are  certainly  on  the  eve  of  a  great  battle  here — it 
will  be  a  grand  affair— *I  may  not  survive  the  con- 
flict, but,  brother,  if  I  dic,'I"shall  fall  at  my  post,  and 
I  am  ready  to  go.'" 

Yes,  indeed,  it  "was  a  grand  affair''  to  bim!  He 
did  not  "survive  the  conflict,"  but  he  was  ' 'ready  to 
go  V  He  said,  "I  shall  die  at  my  post "  Lieuten- 
ant Mattison,of  the  same  company,  in  a  letter  after 
his  death,  said ;  "He  died  at  his  post  as  a  brave  and 


Christian  soldier,   for  a  braver  and  better  man  has 
*  not  farlen  in  the  Confederate  army." 

Jin  his  letters  he  often  expressed  the  greatest  con- 
fidence in  his  preparation  to  meet  death.  At  the 
end  of  a  long  march  last  Spring,  he  said  :  "I  am 
•wayworn  and  weary!'  0  how  sweet  amid  such  toil 
and  excitement  to  look  beyond  these  scenes  of  busy 
wo  and  strife,  and  contemplate  the  'Saint's  Everlast- 
ing  Rest.'  "     Then  he  quoted  the  lines : 

"Here  in  the  body  pent, 

Absent  from  heaven  I  roam, 
Yet  nightly  pitch  my  moving  tent 

A  day's  march  nearer  honie. 

Nearer  hume!  Nearer  home! 

However  dark  and  lonely 
The  path  through  which  I  roam; 

This   is  a  journey  only, 
And  though  I  oft,  affrighted, 

Shrink  back  with  sigh' and  moan, 
My  campflre  still  is  lighted 

A  day's  march  nearer  home I" 

In  another  letter  lie  says  :  "And  now,  my  brother, 
I  have  some  reason  to  fear  that  you  have  not  pre- 
pared yourself  to  meet  the  news  of  such  a  fate  as  may 
befal  me.  I  know  you  &eJ  lonely  .without  me.  It 
seems  to  me  that  if  you  should  die  first  the  world 
would  be  without  interest  to  me.  But  I  have  en- 
tered the  army  to  fight  for  you,  and,  if  need  be,  to 
die  for  you  and  yours.  Let  us  be  prepared  for  the 
worst — nay,  rather  for  the  best,  for,  though  life  is 
sweet,  ffeaven  it  infinitely  moeeterl     I  am  willing  to 


go  when  God  calls,  and*I  am  willing  he  shall  call 
me  in  any  way  that  he  pleases."  __ 

The  last  words  he  ever  said  to  me,  as  he  held  my 
hand. with  the  affectionate  farewell  grip,  a  few  weeks 
ago  at  the  Talladega  depot :  "Well,  brother,  now  we 
part,  and  unless  you  visit  the  army  soon,  we  will  not 
meet  again  on  earth;  but  shed  no  tears  for  me — we 
will  meet  in  heaven."  How  often  have  these  words 
flashed  through  my  memory,  and  carried  solemn  mu- 
sic deep  into  my  soul !  0  that  joyous  meeting  in 
heaven  !     Thank  God  for  the  hope  of  heaven  ! 

His  last  day's  work.  He  had  offered  up  fervent 
prayer  to 'God,  and  with  the  dawn  of  day  the  battle 
opened.  He  stood  and  acted* his  part  manfully  nearly 
to  the  close  of  the  terrific  scene.  His  Captain  was 
wounded  in  the  early  part  of  the  day  ;  after  this  the 
command  of  the  company  devolved  upon  him  until 
his  fall.  About  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  three 
regiments  of  his  brigade  gave  way  and  retired,  leav- 
ing a  gap  through  whieh  the  enemy  was  moving  rap- 
idly to  flank  their  position.  Gen.  Archer  threw  the 
Battallion  and  first  Tennessee  regiment — who  alone 
remained  in  the  battle  at  that  point — -'into  the  breech 
to  hold  the  enemy  in  check  until  another  brigade 
could  be  brought  up.  The  enemy  rushed  on  and 
Avere  too  strong.  An  order  came  to  retreat.  It  is 
supposed  by  his  comrades  that  brother  did  not  hear 
the  order.  The  first*  Tennessee  retreated,  and  the 
battallion  retreated,  except  a  few  of  his  company  who 
stood  by  him.  The  enemy  fining  up  within  a  few 
8tepg  ordered    a  euiTender.     Be    turned  to  his  few 


10 

men,  with  a  gentle  smile,  and  said :  "Boys,  tHis  is  a 
pretty  hot  place,  and  you  must  get  out  the  best  you 
can."  Then  turning  to  the  enemy  with  his  Repeater 
in  hand  he  began  to  fire,  and  was  unhurt,  and  firing 
his  piece  with  cool  deliberation,  when  his  "boys"" left 
him  !  And  here  he  was  found  dead.  No  friend  saw 
him  die.  I  do  not  say  that  he  acted  with  the  best 
discretion,  but  I  do  claim  for  him  that,  in  the  last 
moments  he  stood  atone  on  that  part  of  the  field  of 
carnage  with  his  lace  to  the  enemy  giving  him 
battle.* 

;-  Coward's  die  a  thousand  deaths ! 

Brave  men  die  but  one, 

And  conquer,  though  they  die!" 

His  intimate  friend,  Lieut.  Mattison,  brought  his 
remains  home.  He  reached  my  house  the  first  day 
of  the  new  year — Oh,  what  a  sad  new  year's  day  !  I 
gathered  my  family  around  the  cold  and  lifeless  form 
of  one  that  we  loved  as  dearly  as  life  itself,  and  al- 
lowed'my  little  children  to  shejl  a  tear  upon  the  face 
of  an  Uncle  who  had  so  often  presented  them  to' that 
God  at  whose  feet  he  lived,  and  who  finally  died  for 
them.  And  on  the  2d  inst.,  after  religious  services, 
•led  by  Elder  E.  T.  Smith,  who  long  stood  side  be- 
side with  him  in  the  army,  he  was  buried  with  the 
"'honors  of  war"  in  the  Talladega  cemetery.  "Turn 
from  him  that  he  may  rest"  till  the  morn  of  the  re- 
surrection, when  he  will  come  forth  in  the  glorified 
image  of  the  Son  of  God. 


*I  state  this  upon  the  authority  of  his  eomra<U«, 


11 

Yet  I  feel  sad  and  lonely.     Only  a  few   years  ago 
there  were  five  brothers  of  us,  and  now   I  am  left 
alone.     When  the  others  passed  away  my  heart  drew 
nearer  this  one.     I  loved  with  more  than  a  brother^ 
love  :  he  was  to  me  a  brother  and  a  son.     He  never 
acted  contrary  to  my  wishes  in  anything,  and  yet    I 
always  felt  that  in  many  things  he  was  capable  of  ad- 
vising me.     From  the   day  he  joined  the  church  I 
never  knew  him  to  do  a  thing  that  I  could  oensure. 
In  the  family  he  was  beloved.     It  may  be  safely  said 
that  he  never   boarded    in    a  family  but  what  gave 
him  up  reluctantly  when  he  left,  and  he  boarded  in 
many.     In   school  he  was  loved  by  his  class-mates 
and  honored   by    the  Faculty.     In  social  life  he  was 
a  young  man  of  few  and  prudent  words.     I  question 
whether  any  one  car.  refer  to  a  single  impropriety  in 
all  his  religious  life.     In  private  life  he  was  a  man 
of    study    and  of  much    prayer.      In  the  cause  of 
Christ  he  was  faithful  and  zealous,  but  his  zeal  was 
tempered  with  more  than  an  ordinary  degree  of  mod- 
esty.    In  the  pulpit  he  was    clear  and  gifted.     He 
loved  the  Sabbath  school  and  the  prayer  meeting. 

As  a  soldier,  he  was  universally  beloved  by  his 
comrades.  He  was  properly  impressed  with  the  im- 
portance of  the  questions  at  issue,  and  there  he  was 
determined  t<T* 

"Be  up  and  doing, 
"With  a  heart  for  any  fate." 

He  preaohed  to  the  soldiers  as  often  as  otl.er  duties 
and  oiroumstances  would  allow,  and  lived  up  to  his' 
religion  himself     One  of  his  fellow-soldiers,  ia  a  Ut- 


ter  to  ine  last  summer,  said,  "Your  brother  is  a  liv- 
ing, walking  example  of  Christianity  amongst  us. — 
He  knows  how  go  perform  his  duties  as  au  officer 
without  conflicting  with  his  religion.  He  is  ready 
at  any  and  all  times  to  get  on  his  knees  to  pray  for 
the  sick  soldier,  and  has  a  word  of.  comfort  and  en- 
couragement for  all.  His  example  is  a  standing  ad- 
monition and  a  constant  finger  board  pointing  out  the 
road  to  heaven. " 

Another  officer  in  his  company  eaya,  "llis  exam- 
ple was  worth  more  to  us  than  the  public  preaching 
of  a  dozen  chaplains." 

And  yet,  0  dear  ''Crockett/'  thou  art  gone  for 
the  preseut !  How  cruel  is  death  !  But  God  is 
just  and  mercirul.  "Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seem- 
ed good  in  thy  sight,"  and  I  cheerfully  submit,  with 
an  humble  confidence  that  the  blow  which  has  cast  a 
pall  of  sorrow  over  my  heart  will  drive  me  closer  his 
bosom  of  love.  Earth  has  Jost  Qne  of  its  strongest 
ties  to  me,  and  heaven  has  gained  an  additional  at- 
traction ! 


From  the  Religious  Herald. 

REV-    N-   D-   RENFROE-' 

"V. 

Sirs:  Permit  us,  through  your  m  paper,  to  pay  a 
last  sad  tribute  to  the  virtues  of  a  young  minister, 
who  fell  in  the  recent  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  a 
martyr  in  the  cause  of  our  country.     We  have  known 


13 

the  falle*  hero  long  and  well,  and  loved  him  as  a 
man  and  a  Christian. 

Nathaniel  D.  Renfroe,  after  a  course  of  theological 
study  in  Tennessee,  returned  to  Alabama  about  four 
years  ago,  and  as  a  licensed  preacher,  took  charge 
of  a  Baptist  congregation  in  .Jacksonville.  He  was 
remarkable  for  his  studious  habits  and  orderly  walk, 
and  above  all,  for  his  humble  and  unostentatious 
piety.  But  a- youth,  he  sooji  won  the  confidence  and 
respect  of  the  community,  and  was  esteemed  as  a 
model  for  young  clergymen,  and  an  example  for  old- 
er men.* 

We  shall  never  forget,  the  solemn  and  impressive 
scene  of  his  ordination.  In  a  neat  and  tasteful 
church,  in  that  mini  village,  located  in  a  beautiful 
and  smiling  valley,  the  i  '  ion  had    assembled 

on  Sabbath  niornirj  in  the  worship  of  God, 

and  the  consecration  Of  their  beloved  young  pastor. 
The  spacious  church  was  filled  to  overflowing  with 
earnest,  attentive  people,  who*  listened  enwrapped  to 
the  able  and  thrilling  ordination  sermon.  A:  the 
close  an  elder  brother  of  the  young  candidate,  who 
had  long  been  in  the  service 
ded  from  the  pulpit  to  conduct  the  solemn 
was  a  most  touching  scene.     With  ey(  i  \  tears, 

and  the  deep,  solemn  tones  of  a  voice  trembling 
with  emotion,  he  examined  his  brother,  administered 
the  vewsr  welcomed  him  into  the  great  work,  and 
charged  him  as  ;    duties  and   august  re- 

sponsibilities. His  manner  united  the  affection  of  a 
father  wiih  the  tenderness  of  a  mother,  and  his  very 


u 

heart-strings  aeemed  U  vibrate  ai  he  poured  forth 
fervent  prayer  to  God  to  bless  the  ordination  and 
^sustain  the  youthful  minister  in  the  arduous  duties 
of  his  holy  vocation.  The  scene  carried  one  back  to 
the  days  when  some  stalwart  knight  administered 
the  vows  to  his  stripling  brother,  and  harnessing  him 
in  the  panoply  of  war,  sent  him  forth  to  battle  for 
the  Holy  Land. 

Earnestly  and  bravejy  did  the  young  minister  de- 
vote himself  to  his  calling — reproving  wickedness  in 
all  forms  and  places,  instructing  the  young  and  the 
ignoraut,  comforting  the  afflicted,  and  teaching  the 
great  truths  of  everlasting  life.  Manfully  he  battled 
against  sin  and  iniquity,  while  he  tenderly  led  the 
weak  and  stumbling.  Of  hinn  it  might  be  truly  said, 
he  pointed  his  flock  to  heaven  and  led  the  way. 

A  year  passed  and  a  new  scene  of  strife  awaited 
the  young  Christian  warrior.  Our  country  '  as  in- 
vaded, our  liberties  assailed  and  our  homes .  an  1  fire- 
sides were  desecrated ;  society  upheaved,  and  the 
great  interests  of  civilization  and  religion  were  all 
about,  to  be  buried  in  the  ruins.  The  South  called 
upon  all  her  sons  to  rush  to  the  rescue.  The  yc  .ng 
minister  felt  that  he  too  was*called  upon  to  defend 
.  his  country  against  the  ruthless  invaders.  He  con- 
sulted with  his  congregation,  and  with  his  ministerial 
brethren.  What  agony  of  mi»^  he  suffered  between 
conflicting  duties  ;  how  often  he  went  to  God  in  fer- 
vent prayer  for  light  and  strength,  may  not  be  told  ! 

But  the  young  minister  soon  laid  his  aside  clerical 
robe3  and  bade  adieu  to  his  weeping  congregation — to 
fathers  he  had 'bo  often  instructed  in  the  duties  of  reli- 


^-** 


gion — to  mothers  be  had  consoled  in  afflictions — and 
to  the  little  children,  that  he  had  gathered  weekly 
around  him -at  the  .Sabbath  school.  He  shouldered 
his  musket  and  hied  him  to  the  battle-field  to  defend 
that  government  that  could  alone  secure  his  people 
the  rigjit  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates 
of  conscience. 

In  the  camp,  on  the  march,  around  the  bivouac 
lire,  or  on  post,  young  Renfroe  discharged  his  duties 
as  faithfully  and  zealously  as  he  had  in  the  pulpit  or 
at  the  Sabbath  school.  Fearless  in  the  battle-field, 
he  was  not  afraid  to  frown  vice  in  the  camp,  and  ex- 
emplified beautifully  the  true  character  of  the  Chris- 
tian soldier.  Modest  and  unassuming,  he  influenced 
ethers  more  by  his  good  example  and  amiable  man- 
Tiers  than  by  obtrusive  advice  or  reproof.  -  He  was 
truly  as  brave  as  a  lion,  yet  gentle  as  a  woman. 

He  soon  gained  the  confidence  of  all  around  him  ; 
and  the  first  vacancy  that  occurred  among  the  offi- 
cers of  his  company,  his  wild  young  companions 
chose  the  Christian  soldier  as  a  leader  in  the  hour  of 
danger  and  amid  the  perils,  of  the  battle-field.  In 
common  with  his  companions  in  arms,  Lieutenant 
Renfroe  went  through  many  privations,  his  company 
taking  part  in  several  of  the  most  fiercely  contested- 
battles  that  have  been  fought  during  this  eventful 
year.  Through  all  he  maintained '  his  exemplary  de- 
portment and  lovely  Christian  character. 
JJJIn  the  progress  of  the  war,  the  invader  again  mar- 
shaled his  hosts  and  came  down  to  pillage  and 
slaughter.     The  din  of  the  conflict  at  Fredericksburg 


ibuud  young  Renfroe  at  his  post.  *  *  *  But 
the  stormy  day  of  battle  has  passed.  The  surging 
hosts  that  swayed  to  and  fro  through  that  awful  am- 
phitheatre of  blood  and  carnage,  from  morning  till 
night,  amid  the  roar  of  artillery,  hissing  shot  and 
shrieking  shells, -have  ceased  their  strife.  All  have 
sunk  down —  •  • 

'•'The  weary  to  rest  and  the  wounded  to  die/' 
Alone,  yet  not  all  alone,  a  young  hero  lies  in  the 
dark  wood,  pierced  with  a  death  wound.  His  life- 
blood  is  ebbing  slowly  away,  and  no  friend  near  to 
staunch  it,  no  kind  hand  to  cool  his  parching  thirst 
with  a  drop  of  water.  It  is  the  young  minister. — 
Where  now  is  that  devoted  flock  that  used  to  gather 
around  him  to  catch  his  words  of  kindness,  or  follow 
hie  accents  of  prayer?  Far,  far  away  in  Alabama. 
Perhaps  they  pray  for  him,  looking  with  joyful  an- 
ticipation to  the  time  when  he  shall  return  and 
again  go  in  and  out  before  them,  and  teach  them  the 
ways  of  righteousness.  Alone  with  his  God,  while 
the  bright  stars  gleamed  from  above,  and  angels  look- 
ed down  from  heaven,  the  Christian  hero  breathed 
out  his  spirit  in  prayer  for  his  people  and  his  country. 
Sabbath  morning  breaks,  brighi  and  beautiful,  over 
the  lovely  vale  in  Alabama.  The  Sabbath-bell  peals 
forth  through  the  peaceful  village,  and  wakes  echoes 
from  the  neighboring  mountains.  The  innocent  and 
prattling  children  gather  at  the  sanctuary  to  unite  their 
tender  voices  in  praises  to  God,  and  their  young  hearts 
in  prayer   for    I  return    of  their  minister.     But 

where  is  he?  \ Stiff  aad  stark  in  death  he  lies  on  the 
heights  above  the  ravaged  city,  the  purest  and  most  spot- 
less sacrifice  offered  on  the  altar  of  liberty.  ' ' 


Hollinger  Corp. 
pH8.5 


